Open_front_unrounded_vowel Open_front_unrounded_vowel

Open front unrounded vowel - Definition and Overview
Vowels
front near-front central near-back back
close i • y ɨ • ʉ ɯ • u
near-close ɪ • ʏ ʊ
close-mid e • ø ɘ • ɵ ɤ • o
mid ə
open-mid ɛ • œ ɜ • ɞ ʌ • ɔ
near-open æ ɐ
open a • ɶ ɑ • ɒ
Table of vowels
List of vowels
Edit this box (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:Vowels)
IPA - Unicode a
IPA - image Image:Xsampa-a.png
X-SAMPA a
Kirshenbaum a
Sound sample

The open front unrounded vowel is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is a, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is a. Features of this vowel:

  • Its vowel height is open, which means the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth.
  • Its vowel backness is front, which means the tongue is positioned as far forward as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.
  • Its vowel roundedness is unrounded, which means that the lips are not rounded.

Example Usage of unrounded
Lyndseydyan: I don't trust lesbians with fake nails. Especially unrounded square tipped nails.
CAPS_2009: CAPS National Convention: be there or be unrounded – Paul Huschilt CSP #sendible
kiirzten: oh and of course its unrounded ;).. pff.. linguistics is haaaaard!
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